Vegetable sprayer



T. L. KELLEY VEGETABLE SPRAYER July 12, l1938.

Filed May 6, 193'? 2 22, 5 Q @f GL 5. .e 2 3 o 2 r. M 2 ,mi m .s n /f @f ,w 5 W m :C 3 O IL 7H .uw TM nv. w 4.16m@ C w a DM# l Fig. l.

Patented July l2, 1938 PATENT orties 2,123,425'1 VEGETA'BLE. SPRAYER Thomas L. Kelley, Bakersfield, IGalif.

Application May 6, 1937, Serial No..141,114 5 Claims.` f (Cl. f?,99=-."58)VIV My invention is a water sprayer for spraying-- vegetables on a vegetable stand in orderto maintain these in a fresh and attractive condition.

In certain types of vegetable stands it is desirable f ,to spray suchvegetables by means of a single or a central jet on account of the` vegetablessomeel times being arranged in a non-symmetrical manner. As regards the-jet, it quiteoftenhappens that the vegetables arel not evenly sprayed with` water.

Myiinvention comprehends thereforea type of vegetable sprayer in which a single and preferablyI central jet of `water discharged vertically c may, `by a spreading .and deflection pla-te, be di-..,

iverted and directed downwardly and alsolater.-` ally to spread thespray onthe Vegetablesand to be adjustable for varying the relativespread andV amount of water reaching. the.. vegetableslin different positions relative to the spray jet.

Considered more specifically, my invention has as an object andfeature a vertically adjustable` spreading and Vdiverting plate which may be raised `and lowered as regards the vertcalwater jet and maybe inclined at various angles `to project thewater different distances` on one side of the jetfrorn the `other and to also spray more water in one direction than theother. A feature of my inventionas to the vertical adjustment of the spreader plate includesV an upright` rod `with a combined rod clamp and plate holderl which engages the rod by a friction grip dueto a resilient spring action and thus maybe located at different elevations. Also thesarne clamp operates as a journal for a shaft connected to a flat 1spreader plate, such shaft being held in 'place by friction between two spring parts of the clamp.

Considered in more detail my invention4 in cludes the clamp formed of two spring plates arranged somewhatdn a concave Vmanner nested ltogether and with two aligned perforationsu -through which the upright rod extends." How-fV ever .one of these .plates `between these perfora-V tions is bent towards the rod in a convex curveu and forms a center friction element engaging the :rod between the portions of the rod clamped at the perforations. This constructioniorms-a space between the two plates between the perfor-l ations and this du-e to the resilient nature of the plates, forms a type of friction journal for the shaft. to which the spreader plate is attached for' rotating this plate on `the axis of the shaft, such shaft extending horizontally when the supporting rod is vertical.. My invention alsoincludes a disconnectable jetl oricedevicewhich may. be readat the perforations.

j and ,indicating the spread and distribution of the A water.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2 2 of Y Fig. 'l in thedirection of the arrows.

Fig. v3 is a: front elevation of thefclamp and part of 4the-spreader plate taken in the direction of the arrow?, of Fig. vl.

Fig...4 is a vertical section on `the line ll-l of Fig. -3 in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. `5 is a Vertical section through the sprayer head and :removable orifice device.

In my inventionl. employ an upright or vertical rod II whichrmaybe supported in any suitableinannert. This is preferably cylindrical. Mounted on the .rod there is a clamp IZ. Such clamp has an .outer plate I3 and an inner' plate I4.- -These `plates have upper and lower ends I5 .and I6 forming vlinger grip .ends and secured ad- Vtions of the-plates of the clamp indicated as a lower section I8 and an upper section I9. Each of these presents a plane surface having lower Vand,upper.perforations 20 .and 2l through both of the plates. vThe plates are closely contiguous at these atsections I8 and I9. The center portion 22 of the outer.,plate is preferably a plane and vertical. surface. The center section 23 of theinner plateV however is convex and has a rubbing contact 2li with the rod ,I-I.

It will 'ne seen with this construction that the rod, I2 extendsthrough the upper and lower perforations `and as the plates are formed of steel-which hasY more or less tension tending to flatten the` springs, the rod is snugly gripped These perforations are of sufficient size so that the clamp slides readily up anddown the rod and at any placetightly grips therod. When it is desired to move the clamp up and down the upper and lower nger grip ends I5 andIi are squeezed together, that is, towards eachother. This tends to bend the clamp as semblyslightly so that there is a looser working action Yof the perforationson the` rod and so that the pressure of the portion 24 on the rod is lessened. In fact, with considerable pressure the flat part 22 may be slightly'flexed outwardly and the portion 23 slightly spaced from the rod II,

thus allowing the clamp to be raised and lowered on the rod quiteeasily.

With this rod I utilize a spreader plate 30 which may be of any desired configuration. 'p21/ie plate however. is flat or plane and has a shaiZt 3l connected thereto. substantially centrallylocated as regards the 'oppositesides of the plate, therod being secured to the plate substantially along the central line 32 by soldering or the like. Thus there is an end portion 33 of the shaft extending beyond one end of the plate. This end is fitted between the two This' shaft is indicated as l lplate 30 on the underside.

spring plates of the clamp in the space indicated at 34 (note Fig. 4). The shaft end thus due to the concave curve of the underface of the section 23 occupies substantially a midposition between the upper and lower ends of the space 34. The friction of the plate section 22 and the plate section 23 on the shaft 33 retains this from rotation. The shaft part is preferably of such diameter that when removed from the space 34 the natural flexing of the metal of the clamp spaces the pore tion 23 from the rod II. The end of the shaft is somewhat pointed as indicated at 35 so that this end may be readily inserted in the opening 34 and when the rod is thrust in place it causes a contact of the portion 23 of the inner plate of the clamp Vto engage the rod and presses outwardly on the flat side 22. This thus aids tightly securing the clamp to the vertical rod and developing a sufficient friction to hold the deection plate 30 at any desired angle in reference to the rod I I.

A convenient manner of mounting the rod is to employ a sprayer head 4U shown as having a screw threaded connection with a standpipe 4I ,of a water supply. The head has a somewhat tapered section 42 above the threaded portion and a top 43 having a threaded opening inwhich is inserted the orice plug 44 having a small bore orifice 45. This plug has a relatively large recess 46 below the orifice and there is a relatively large space 4l in the head below the plug. It will be noted that the plug is threaded downwardly extending below the top portion 43. The rod II has a horizontally extending lower end 48 which is fitted through a side opening 49 in the tapered portion 42 and secured on the inner end by a weld 50. It will be understood that if desired the rod may be welded on the outer end of the spray head. Y

The manner of using my invention and the ,function of the various parts may be considered substantially as follows: The standpipe 4I with the head 40 is located on a vegetable stand in a convenient place for piling vegetables around the standpipe or one side of the pipe'possibly may have more vegetables than the opposite side. The lower end 48 of the rod I I offsets the vertical part of the rod from the line of the vertical jet from the orifice 45, this being such that the jet of water impinges on substantially the center of the Manifestly as the clamp may be rotated on the rod II and the plate rotated on its horizontal shaft 3|, various adjustments may be made as to the part of the plate against which the water jet iinpinges and the angularity of such plate. Therefore an unequal spread of the water may be obtained from this plate.` If the plate is at an angle to the jet while some water will spray outwardly along the axis of the shaft 3l, most of it will be discharged at substantially right angles to this shaft and a variable spread may be given to the water as indicated by the spray lines shown dotted in Fig. 1.

Various changes may be made in the details of the construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a sprayer, the combination of a vertical rod having a support, a clamp having an outer and an inner plate, means securing said plates together adjacent their free ends, such ends` being adapted to form a finger grip, the two plates having two converging sections in close contact, aligned perforations through said sections with the rod extending therethrough, the center portion of the outer plate being substantially flat and parallel to the rod, the center portion of the inner plate having a convex curve forming a space between the two center portions, a spreader plate having a shaft, the shaft extending through said space at substantially right angles to the rod and frictionally engaging the two center portions of the plate and forming a frictional engagement whereby on rotation of the spreader plate on the axis of the shaft, the shaft is held by friction.

2, In a sprayer as claimed in claim 1, the center portion of the inner and outer plates extending from the ends of the converging sections through the perforations of which the rod extends, thereby forming an elongated space whereby the said shaft may be moved upwardly or downwardly in the said space or tilted at an inclination to the said rod.

3. A sprayer comprising in combination a sprayer head having means for attachment to a vertical standpipe, the head having an end with a threaded opening, an orifice plug fitted therein having a large recess on the inside and a small bore orice in axial alignment with the standpipe, a rod having a vertical upper portion and a horizontal lower portion, the horizontal lower portion being connected to the head thereby offsetting the rod parallel tol the axis of the orifice, a clamp on the rod engaging the rod frictionally, the clamp being so constructed and arranged relative to the rod that it is vertically and rotatably adjustable on the rod and held in adjusted position by said frictional engagement, a spreader plate mounted in the path of discharge from said orifice, said spreader plate having a shaft, the said shaft and clamp having a frictional connection means to provide for adjustment of the plate relative to the axis of the shaft.

4. In a device as described, a clamp having an inner and an outer plate in the form of elongated straps, means securing said plates together adjacent their free ends, such ends being adapted to form a nger grip, the outer and inner plates having two converging sections extending from the ends, such converging sections having aligned openings, a rod extending through said openings, the part of the plates on the side of the rod opposite the nger grip ends forming a central portion, such central portion of the outer strap being substantially flat and parallel to the rod andv clamp is' frictionally mounted on the rod by the engagement with the rod at the perforations and of the inner convex strap section engaging the rod on one side.

5, In a device as described and claimed in claim 4, the straight portion and the convex portion of the outer and inner straps forming a space, a shaft fitted in said space at substantially right angles to the said rod, the said outer and inner strap portions being so constructed and arranged and so engaging the shaft that it may be rotated about or moved longitudinally of its axis or tilted slightly from said right angular relation.

THOMAS L. KELLEY. 

